Thanks for visiting the Art of the Image blog. We've moved over to www.artoftheimage.com so this blog is no longer updated, but please feel free to peruse the articles and content here.

When you're finished, please visit us at www.artoftheimage.com for all the current blog posts and information. Thanks!!!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Top 4 Ways To Be A Better Photographer

1. Practice. You've heard it before, and I'm reminding
you again. Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect. Just
like Malcom Gladwell proves in his book Outliers, it's all about the
time investment. 10,000 hours baby! Put the time in, and you will be
the best of the best.

It doesnt matter if you use the best equipment
like a Nikon D4 or a Canon 1Dx, or you use a bargain priced Sony NEX-3N or
Canon T5i, it's the photographer that makes the photo. And the skilled
photographer, the one who has practiced countless hours and honed their
craft, can take a great photo with just about any camera or image making
device.

I am constantly amused how many photographers advertise
themselves as "natural light" photographers. Basically they're telling
everyone that they don't have a clue how to do lighting, which in effect
is saying they aren't really that great a photographer because they
haven't taken the time to learn one of the most important aspects of the
craft.

Sure, there are few amazing "natural light" photographers, but
they are also the ones who know photography inside and out, are skilled
at lighting, and have then chosen to shoot predominantly without
artificial lighting. There are VERY FEW of these photographers out
there. The bulk of photographers who say they shoot with "natural
lighting" just don't know how to use artificial lighting, hence they try
to make themselves sound artistic by trying to make their ignorance
sound like an advantage.

3. Get it right in Camera. In other words, shoot it
properly when you take the picture. Know your settings. Know your
equipment. Know your lighting. Anticipate your subject.

Poor
shooting, and then saying you'll just fix it in post with Photoshop or Lightroom, is lazy and degrades
your skills (if you have taken the time to acquire any. A lot of times
when a photo isn't shot right at the time, the photographer did it out
of ignorance because they didn't have the skills to begin with. See
#1.)

4. Be prepared. Extremely critical for the professional
photographer, but still very important for the amateur enthusiast
photographer, be prepared is a great moto to live by. There's a reason it's the Scouts' motto!

If you're going out to shoot a landscape at dawn, know
your sunrise times and scope out where your best vantage point is ahead
of time.

If you're going out on an assignment for a tricky client shot,
run the scenario through in your head before the big day. Try setting
up a similar shot at home or in your studio and figure out possible
problems and solutions ahead of time.